Offred lived a normal, American life when all of the sudden, her family was taken from her so she could go have somebody else’s baby. The Handmaid’s Tale is about a woman’s tale of her life, her story, and her struggles in a new society and how she got there. This story by Margaret Atwood tells the life of Offred, a handmaid for a wealthy couple and her daily struggles trying to adapt to her new world. Offred tells how she makes deals with her Commander and his Wife with hope of getting out and how that changes her life. The progress in this book is not as one would probably describe progress, but it is as follows: the government and society had to make major changes in order to bring about the new system and laws, Gilead is thinking of and executing ways to raise the birthrate in their country, and handmaids and women in general are protected at all costs.…
The author offers that Handmaids Tale, “Atwood’s novels became part of a new wave of fiction writing by feminist who wrote both to entertain and to dramatize the plight of women.” He goes on about all the contributing factors that inspired the new fiction writing. He covers the plot and gives quotes from the book specifically from the women and their perceptions. He goes on to explain the different categories of women and their roles. The confinement and objectification of women are evident in the analysis. Government and religion are discussed in great detail and their part in Gilead societies. The religion influences the government entirely and women pay the price. Rape is discussed is perceived as being provoked that women ask for it. The…
Author Margaret Atwood’s writing has been shaped by one particular movement- the push for women’s rights in the 1960s and 1970s. When Atwood was a college student, “a woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her early 20s, start a family quickly, and devote her life to homemaking” (“The 1960s-70s”). Employers assumed that the females who did work would soon become pregnant, so ladies were unlikely to advance in their careers. What money they did earn was controlled by their husbands, or their male wardens, as females are legally subject to them. With the development of the birth control pill a few years later, women could now chase professional careers and “the double standard that allowed premarital sex for men but prohibited…
A motif in The Handmaid's Tale is the color red and Handmaids in Gilead wear red. The biggest and obvious example is the Red Center where handmaids are trained. Red symbolizes oppression since the women are being forced to become handmaids. The great thing about literature is everything is up for interpretation, therefore red could mean various things. Salvagings take place by The Wall, which is described on pg.…
In her novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margret Atwood uses symbolism to illustrate the handmaid’s role in the society of Gilead. The handmaids are the women who had broken law of Gilead, and were forced into the role of a surrogate mother for a higher ranking couple. The handmaids had no rights or free will. They were under constant surveillance and this caused them to be very cautious. The author characterizes most handmaids as a tentative and distrustful, which is perhaps why Offred never puts in words the magnitude of her discontent with her new life, because it’s possible she doesn’t truly trust the reader. The author uses symbols such as the handmaid’s dress-code, a pigs ball, and even the handmaids names to give the reader a sense of the handmaid’s imprisonment.…
Atwood has always enjoyed writing Sci fi novels. The feminist and environmental views stemmed great from Atwood’s own personal advocacy of such things (Atwood, Interview by Rosenburg).…
The issue that has been persistent for as long as one can remember is Misogyny in the society. The belief that women are inferior to men has been contaminating the human mind. The issue can be commonly seen in the society in form of domestic abuse, violence, objectification in name of advertisements, and especially in the music industry where the lyrics are filled with hateful messages towards women. Even though the governing laws consider men and women as equal, but the mistreatment of women continues to be the headline of every newspaper.…
The women must believe that they are created in order to bear children, to be silent, and to stay home. This can be seen when the text states “I am alive, I live, I breathe, I put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight. Where I am is not a prison but a privilege” (6 Atwood), the women believe they are not being oppressed but God has intended them to live this way, they do not feel as if they are trapped or used as sexual objects. By using “I’ after each verb the character is trying to communicate that she has freedom and she is able to do such things freely, she believes that it is a ‘privilege’ given to her rather than a confinement. The government deceiving the women in this way causes them to gain more power as they agree to conform to the new changes. Even Offred’s escape from this system is by sheer luck rather than her will to…
Type 1: The clitoris is held between the thumb and the index finger and amputated with one stroke of a sharp blade. Type 2: Then the labia minora and the labia majora are lacerated. Type 3: Finally, the remaining tissue is sewn, leaving a 2-3 mm hole where a twig can be inserted for urine and menstrual fluid. Tie the legs from hip to ankle together for 6 weeks in order to help the tissue bond. No anesthesia is to be used. Hygiene need not be taken into consideration. Side effects include bleeding, tetanus along with other infections, painful sexual intercourse, long delays during childbirth, and death. Psychological effects such as depression, anxiety and PTSD are also common in the women who undergo this procedure.…
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood depicts a dystopian society where the United States has been taken over by a monotheocracy and transformed into the country of Gilead. The majority of the woman in this society have been split into three basic categories: Wives, Marthas, and Handmaids. There are also Econowives, Aunts, and Unwomen. The main character, Offred, is a Handmaid. The Handmaids’ sole purpose in this society is to provide babies for powerful households where the wives are deemed infertile. Throughout the novel a struggle can be sensed between most of the women. In The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood demonstrates the way that oppressors will use tension between minoritized groups to distract from their oppression.…
Feminism has always been an incredibly relevant issue in all societies and is still no exception in today’s day and age. One of the most highly acclaimed writers of today that tackles the plaguing issue of feminism and the unfortunate belittling of women is Margaret Atwood. Among her many successful novels, poems, and other works, her masterpiece of a novel The Handmaid’s Tale emphasizes the dangers of downplaying women and their roles in society. Set in a future dystopian society, Atwood’s novel is best understood and interpreted from a critical feminist viewpoint; if the reader adapts this perspective, the novel comes to life and its message to protect women’s rights is unmistakable.…
Weiss later writes that: “Offred participates fully in Gilead’s violent rituals: Particicutions, Salvagings, and so on… [Offred’s] process of narrating is not a form of subversion, but of escape” (17). Through Offred’s refusal to fight for her rights, she indirectly accepts the regime. If Offred truly wants to make a difference, she would disregard consequences and fight against the regime. Her form of narration affirms that she has a guilty conscience; she knows that what she participates in is completely wrong. She attempts to separate herself from the horrendous regime, but instead she only conforms to it. Offred first realizes her complacency when she sees the Commander in her room: “Was he invading? Was he in my room? I called it mine” (49). Offred is initially shocked by her acceptance of something that is not even her’s; the room is really for whoever is the handmaid at the time. Nevertheless, her statement still suggests that she is accepting her position. Her acceptance of the room also moves her farther away from the mentality that she will never conform to society. She does not let anyone know about the incident, but she has given in mentally. However, Offred is able to hold out on completely giving up until her affair with the commander is discovered: “Everything they taught at the Red Center, everything I’ve resisted, comes flooding in. I don’t…
All throughout history women and men have been seen differently. Men have always been seen as strong, smart, tough, and natural leaders. Women have been seen as weak, timid, nurturing, and always following a man’s lead. As you can tell they are very different. Less than 100 years ago women didn’t have rights in America. They weren’t allowed to vote, own property, or pretty much do anything without a man’s approval. The group “ United Society of Believers in Christ second coming” were adovocating for women’s rights a century and a half before women had the right to vote, according to news wise .com.…
Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, is in a class of its own. I have never read a book with its form of organization, syntax, or use of description and imagery. Atwood used these tools to awesome effect.…
* Top Girls pg 81 Marlene: ‘I just want…’ Marlene cries’’ Act 3 – Marlene and Joyce are arguing about Marlene’s decision to give up Angie.…